September 20, 2016

Hello out there! How goes things? Over here, I've still been lost in a world of painting and learning and painting some more. It's been a fun period of challenge and growth; at times frustrating when my skills don't align with my ideas, but overall, exhilarating to be experiencing the process of creative exploration and development.

Just like I have felt before, it feels bittersweet to be sending this one off to it's new home. I'm glad to have them go to good homes, and of course, I need the money to feed my painting supply funds, but I'll miss it too, I spend so much time with each one that it feels a little like a love affair. I wonder how many years I will have to paint, how many paintings I will have to sell, for the attachment to each piece to lesson. I'm betting that those that paint and sell in collections might feel that way about collections as a whole, but not so much each individual one. Or maybe when I understand my own painting process better, each one won't feel like I'll never be able to repeat something similar. Who knows, I'm just rambling on. As I paint and sell, these are just some of the thoughts that go through my head.

August 18, 2016

Hello out there! I'm coming up for air just long enough to put up a post on the blog. What?!? Crazier things have happened, surely, but with my track record this past year, I'm happy to find myself pulled here to share.

This is the current state of my family room floor. And it's been like this for too many days to count.

As you can see in the pictures (and post title) I've been putting in lots of hours painting lately. In this instance, when I say painting I'm referring to acrylic on wood and canvas; both florals and abstracts or a combination of them both.

I'm pretty sure it started on a recent trip to Portland where I got in a lot of painting time; both with Michelle in her awesome studio, and then an intense 12 hour non stop session with Jennifer, (amazing artists both), I felt a creative growth spurt coming on and if there's one thing I love it's new developments in my creative expression. This week I dropped as many things as I possible could and devoted myself to more uninterrupted painting time. And it's paid off. I fully believe that quantity time leads to good quality creative learning. The breakthroughs happen eventually. Just stick with it. Practice without judgement, play, fun, experimenting... all recommended by me!

I painted a lot of my more usual like these:

and then some new things started coming out like this:

and this:

...which feel and looks different than I'm used to. Like finding a new gear. Fun times.

As per my usual, many, many at once. That way I don't feel forced to stick to any one idea; I feel free to try different things like colors or marks that wouldn't necessarily belong together.

I'm still painting away but probably need to clean up the family room for the weekend. It's ok, a break, switching it up, is good on occasion too. Maybe I'll paint in my art journal instead, a little cleaner for the family for a bit. ;)

I've even been on a finishing(!!) roll and have started moving some pieces around my house.

(That tall skinny flower is a Jennifer Mercede piece. It's so sweet.)

I've started a second instagram account that's focused on paintings and behind the scenes/works in progress. It's where Jennifer and I had our art auction, and I've listed a couple things for sale there just to try out something requiring less clicks than etsy. It's @pamgarrisonstudioshop if you're interested.

And, I'll be listing lots of things on my etsy too, that'll help me focus on finishing them all the way through!

Pursuing creativity and putting in enough time for growth...yes please. As always, I appreciate you stopping by here and also as always, I'm here cheering you and your creative time on. I hope if you want some, you get some. Even if you have to steal a little time...trust me, the dishes will wait, I've tested it!

August 10, 2016

Hello there, you! Are you an artist? Is art a hobby of yours? Do you want to get started or expand your creativity? Want to join me for three days of guided creative exploration and general art making fun?!?

If you joined us last year, know the content is all new and I'm super excited to bring this new teaching material to this group of creatives.

It's no secret that I am a passionate creative. I feel one of the best things about my creativity is how accessible it is. I've figured out some simple ways to open up that creative flow along my journey that I am going to share. It is always my hope when teaching to encourage, inspire, inform and simplify creative pursuit, but this class especially will focus on some specific exercises and fun playful ways to open up that creative window even more.

We'll be doing this using guided exercises as I've mentioned, and we'll also be art journaling and painting on wood too!

All level artists welcome and encouraged.

After having taught at the Donna Downey Studio, I now know how very many delicious supplies we have at our fingertips. Donna is a passionate creative like myself and spares no expense when it comes to stocking the studio. As a teacher, and as a student, this is an incredible gift to one's creative explorations. We're not going to limit ourselves over the three days, that's for sure!

One night last year I came back to the hotel to find many of the students having a late night art fest in the gathering room off the lobby. This year I think we'll have to set a time and see how many of the students want to join in for after hours creative time. Or maybe we'll have a pizza party at the studio... there is delicious pizza right across the street (why yes, I did test it out last year, I do love my pizza, don'tcha know?).

Another thing that holds true for all my classes is that I want to be sure to answer your burning questions. Is there something you've seen me do that you want to see demonstrated? Some supply you want my thoughts on? Some process or specific pursuit? Requests welcome and time is built in for getting them addressed. That's what's great about the three days, although it goes by quickly, there is time to dig into the creating.

I love sharing all the new things I've discovered in my own creativity and methods and mediums. I'm always exploring and expanding my repertoire.

This is my last live teaching engagement for 2016, and I only plan on doing 2 in 2017, so if learning live is where it's at for you, I encourage you to meet me in North Carolina this September! We're going to have a creative haven for three days, can't wait!

August 07, 2016

(Edited: Auction has ended, all paintings sold. Jennifer and I thank all those that linked, looked, liked or bid!!! xoP)

Hello! Here's a blast of colorful craziness for you ;)

Jennifer Mercede and I recently got to collaborate and we ended up with 9 original abstract paintings that we are auctioning off. The auction ends today, Sunday, August 7 at 9pm PST. If you want a look see and more info, they are on my @pamgarrisonsrudioshop Instagram account found here: bit.ly/JMandPGArtAuction. We are thankful for each and every look at the fun we had working (playing) pushing paint together.

The collaborative painting experience is fun and challenging. At the end of any collaborative experience I have always grown and stretched my creative muscles. I think the artwork that resulted this time is a perfect blend of our original styles. New things came up for both of us, new strides and new notes.

Thanks to all those that have bid already and good luck to any bidders!

Hope you are having a lovely Sunday and hope you get to collaborate creatively now and again, it's such a good thing for one's art practice on occasion.

February 16, 2016

This is my family room floor right now. It hasn't changed much since last night. Something flipped in me after dinner and I just had to set down what I was doing (the controlled, illustrated bird in the bottom left) and just play.

All these pieces had been started previously in one form or another, and then abandoned for other assignments. I've been working harder than I ever have in my life it seems, at least artist "job" wise, neglecting housekeeping more than ever though, and I can't seem to get out from under the must-do's to the do-whatever-you-want-whenever-you-want-to's and last night I gave myself a much needed hall pass.

This was the first go at putting a bird on a background. The bird was inspired by this one I watercolored the night before:

For better or worse, it's completely gone now, and currently looks like this:

Still not finished. Who knows where it will end up. I wish I could have both versions to be working on right now, I liked that background and that bird might have turned out great with more love, but unfortunately, that's not how it works with paintings.

I've been painting long enough now to sometimes have a good idea where I'm going, like with this one:

or this one:

and this one too:

-Side note: all three of the above are techniques taught in my Painting Petals class and so will first be for sale soon over on the class website. Or join us in class and learn how to paint your own! ;) -

I may be surprised by the colors, or the line quality, or the way the choices I make impact the end result, but how I'm going to get there, the technique, the method, is a reliable thing, so I know how it will generally end up. That's what makes it teachable material I suppose.

But sometimes I abandon a certain technique for another approach and what shows up really surprises me, like this piece in progress:

By the time I stopped last night I was thoroughly delighted and surprised by it. It is just fun and playful and unexpected. This one seems to be going that way too:

A good reminder that play is so important to discovery and growth. It's as important as deadlines and sharing and everything else that goes into being an artist. I preach it endlessly in all my teaching everywhere and I mean it. Permission to play granted for all!

Hope you get some creative time in today and that includes some play just for the freedom of it. Taking the pressure off is the best advice I ever have to share and I need reminding of that myself, even after all these years.

February 09, 2016

WOW! I am seriously impressed with the work coming out of my Painting Petals online class. Obviously, the students are very talented, and I'm thrilled that some are sharing their work on our class instagram hashtag, #PGspaintingpetalsclass. (click on that link on left to see the gallery large) I have taught a lot of live classes and have seen the result of playing along with me in person, but with the online course, I'm not sure who is really participating making art right now until they share it, and it really is exciting to see; so much good art making going on!

Very fun to see all the different takes on the lessons, and hear about whether it's easy or difficult for them to adjust their thinking, or if it's new and different to what they normally do, etc. I just had to brag a little on their behalf, I'm pretty sure you'll be impressed too:

Phew! That was a lot of linking! I sure hope I got them all right. I took screen shots of the gallery and then linked each picture to it's post on IG, so if I got yours wrong, please let me know. I've double checked but I'm getting a little loopy from all the linking and might have missed an error.

Awesome work, right?!? I sure do think so!

I'm going to post the ig gallery, like this, on my blog weekly, so if you want to see your work here with a link to your IG, please post it on IG using class hashtag: #PGspaintingpetalsclass and it'll automatically be included. Thank you for all who have been posting and sharing already, it makes class all the more fun! We also have a class flickr group, but I'll keep that private, since I'm not sure if students want their work seen (I'm assuming by hashtagging it on IG that you are ok with my sharing, if anyone isn't, please let me know!). I'm loving the posts on flickr too and am commenting on those that have shared on our class group. I hope students will share there as well.

Ahhh, I worked long and hard on the Painting Petals class, and am really proud of it, even more so now that I have started seeing the work coming from the students. It's more fun than I anticipated; releasing the lessons and seeing what comes of them in the students' hands.

January 30, 2016

I have been working on it for a year and I can't believe the day has finally come. I'm checking and re-checking and tweaking away. I want it to be perfect from minute one, (and I know there is no perfect, it's one of the biggest things I impart in all my teaching, but you know, smooth, easy and fun from the start). Beautiful, informative, inspiring and encouraging, that's what I intend class to be.

The students have been leaving the best introductions and after just being at the Creativebug Studios and seeing some of the student work from my class over there, I am even more excited to see the art that comes out of this class. Painting pretty petals is one of my favorite things to do, so happy to find so many of you feel the same, and I'm so happy to lead the Painting Petal brigade! The world can't have too many delightful florals. Speaking of which, the flowers above are giftwrap we'll be making in week 5 of class, one of the many projects.

We'll be covering floral inspirations, seeing more creatively and less realistically...

...drawing loosely with different tools, painting with acrylics...

...liquid watercolors and inks...

...talking colors and composition...

...imagination as inspiration...

...lettering and monochromatics, adding details...

...faux oil painting techniques and projects...

...practicing, and using and repurposing the practice...

...and so much more. I'm really proud of the class. I hope you'll join us...the first lessons are released tomorrow!!!

December 10, 2015

Hi! I am SO EXCITED to share this with you! I'm also super appreciative to all of you that have expressed interest and encouraged me to press on with creating my own self-hosted online classes. And of course, for your patience too; I know it took me a looooong time, but it's worth it, I promise! Super grateful for all MaryAnn's help getting this class from a thousand ideas to actually releasing. Look at the awesome promo she made, I love it and hope you do too!

At long last, my very first self-hosted online class is ready to share. I am thrilled to finally be able to present my floral based e-course, Painting Petals, to the world!

I've been infatuated with flowers for as long as I can remember. Growing them, arranging them and creating with them as inspiration. They make their way into nearly all of my artwork, whether it's in my paintings, art journals, or any number of craft projects. This ongoing life-long love affair with flowers made it a natural choice for my first online class. I can't wait to share all the methods, materials and techniques I use in my floral artwork with you!

If you follow me on Instagram, you are well aware of my never ending petal love. It's undeniable, I'm crazy for florals!

I look forward to sharing with you so many different ways you can express yourself with floral art. My hope is that by joining me in this 5-week lesson and project-based class, you'll be inspired and informed by my love of flowers and art making into creating your very own unique works of art. The imaginative drawing and loose painting I'll be teaching will bring a freedom and ease to your current artistic work. No matter your skill set, novice to professional, you'll learn how to capture leaves & petals in playful, spontaneous, original ways. Our focus here will be on impressionistic works of art; beautiful, expressive florals!

During class you'll see me create using liquid watercolors, colored inks, inexpensive acrylic craft paints, markers, pens and more. A full supply list will be furnished in class, both a general and specific list for each lesson and project. If you have any sort of an art practice now, you should be fine with your current stash of supplies. I have tried plenty of supplies and will share my favorites with you. Substitutes and alternatives are encouraged for artistic development, and the benefits of doing so will be demonstrated. We are certainly going to be breaking some rules and overriding preconceived notions!

The nitty gritty details:

A beautiful, easy to navigate class site bursting with inspiration & information

30 high-definition instructional videos

5 weeks of instruction with new lessons & projects released weekly

Detailed supply information for each lesson & project

Unlimited access to the virtual classroom and content for 1 year - until Feb. 1 2017

A private Flickr group to share your work

Class price = $145 registration opens 12/26/15 at early bird special of $120

Once you complete payment, class access information will automatically be sent via email to the address associated with your Paypal account; if you don't see it, please check your spam folder.

Pre-class content, you can get started having fun before class even begins!

You’ll need a high-speed connection, and up-to-date computer to access the classroom site. A full understanding of how to navigate a website will be useful as well as some basic understanding of how to troubleshoot unique problems that may arise with your system.

Due to the persnickety nature of everyone's computers and varying level of expertise, I am unable provide tech support beyond basic troubleshooting. I will however always make sure things are operational from my end.

All sales are final. No refunds or credits will be granted for any reason.

Please treat your password PDF like a gift certificate and keep a hard-copy somewhere safe in the event of a computer malfunction.

I hope you'll be joining me in Painting Petals! It's going to be so funnnnnnnnn!

October 24, 2015

What? I know, that sounds a little strange, and it was a lot harder than I imagined when I said yes...let me back up and explain...

My friend Paolo has been taking shoemaking lessons for over a year now and has developed a true passion for the craft. He's even gone to Orvieto, Italy to meet a shoemaker and source supplies, so... a very strong passion for it, yes.

He asked me to paint on some leather for him to use when making shoes. Of course, I immediately said yes. And as I waited for the leather he was mailing to arrive, I grabbed a large piece of canvas I had and began on that. You can see it above. I broke it into four sections and did different backgrounds.

And then I went to town. I did that first section (bottom right above and more below) the way I do my responsive drawing (which I teach in my Creative Sketchbooking class on Creativebug, link on sidebar)

and then I got a little stumped. I started over-thinking what would be good on shoes, altering my instincts to fit the project, which usually isn't a good idea for my creative process- trying to change things up for what I think someone else wants usually dulls that instinct I've worked so hard to have access to over all these years of making. That said, an assignment every now and again is a good challenge for me; editing myself doesn't come naturally and sometimes less really is more.

So, when I got to the second square, I started to think about shoes. What kind of shoes? Are we talking women's or men's? Wing tips or ballet slippers? What color shoes would be useful, as the art itself would likely limit the use of the shoes, I wouldn't want the colors to as well. Dark shoes I thought, and left the background a light charcoal. And then promptly went the opposite direction and painted white flowers on top with ink. But how dense should they be for shoes? At first I thought very dense, envisioning a pair of classic Ked's tennis shoes covered in them, but then started to loosen the scatter of flowers, "tossing" less out over the remaining fabric. I wasn't sure if this would be useful or not, to have options, and I'm still not. Time and the shoemaker will tell on that one.

When I got to the third panel, I decided to try to do a toss of flowers that would look more like an old oil painting. I first painted colorful flowers all over the panel and then...

I painted outlines with ink. I can see this as an entire hush-puppie type saddle shoe, or just the center panel even. (Oh, and I broke up the back pain of bending over the canvas on the floor by painting on some small wood pieces I could hold in my hands.)

When the piece of leather arrived in the mail, I was still thinking darker shoes might be best, but I was honestly wishing Paolo was there with me, guiding me. I didn't want to ruin his material. As I worked on it with acrylics, I decided that I'd happily buy it from him and make myself a clutch out of it if it was way off the concept he had in mind when sending. I kind of liked it best at the beginning above...

But then added lots more (contradicting less is more yet again- as I said, editing isn't my strong suit). I kept folding it over the top of my foot trying to imagine it as the toe of a shoe...not sure what the heck I was doing...

As always happens, the due date arrived. Time to pick him up at the airport and give him the goods! But first a stop for breakfast on the beach (Crystal Cove Beachcomber restaurant). I thought it was funny when creating this post, how all the colors of the breakfast picture match the colors of the painted leather above. Do you see it too? The yellow of the pottery, the red of the umbrella, orange of the drinks, blue of the ocean and brown of the bacon...

With all my trying to do something "different for shoes", I was seeing through my same lenses. It gave me a good chuckle on this Saturday morning.

And now that I've handed them off, the story will unfold in another artist's hands, through his lenses. I'm very excited to see where that is and will of course share the end results here!

And I still would like to make a clutch out of that leather, lol.

And here is Paolo himself. ;) After a very full day of driving, and talking shoes, ideas, and creativity and and and... we ended up in Palm Springs, the location of his class. Where over happy hour dinner I proceeded to draw all over the leather I'd painted...per his request! Now doesn't he look like he'd make a great pair of shoes?!? Can't wait to see...

January 24, 2015

Heather gifted me with some of her home made vanilla and oranges from her trees, and they were both so pretty and happy making this morning I couldn't resist snapping some pics. I felt a new appreciation for digital photography, the permission slip that goes along with it to take pictures of anything that strikes your fancy, nothing wasted (like money) if it doesn't turn out. I like taking photos of everyday ordinary things in my life and love having this space here on the blog to post them. (And as always, appreciate your stopping by so I have someone to share with!)

The boys went to baseball early this morning, so I got to putter around in silence, doing dishes, laundry, picking up and vacuuming. A nice re-grouping for the start of the weekend. I'm going to try to paint the oranges above in oil paints this week. Something similar to the radishes I painted while learning in class with Leslie Duke:

The key word is try. I learned only too well this past week how rusty one can get if they don't practice an art regularly. I mentioned last post I had some time to paint on the previously started abstract acrylics...oh boy....let's just say, it was a rocky readjustment.

Yikes! I was frustrated because I had let so much time slip by and felt awkward and uncomfortable doing what came so naturally just a few months ago. It's all part of the process and the wonderful thing about painting is there is always the ability to improve with the next layer, but exploring when out of shape is not as fun as when tuned up of course.

None the less, even when practicing an instrument that's out of tune, discoveries can be made, some pleasing notes produced, and good lessons learned.

The progress on the painted tote excited me the most...I plan to sell a small series of these painted totes in the future, but if you want to paint your own, I bought the craft paper totes at Aaron Bros for $29.99 each...don't know if they carry them anymore or not.

Thanks to the Santa Ana winds blowing here, it's a lovely, sunny day, which is perfect light for mixing up some paint colors and getting back to practice!

January 20, 2015

It was a lovely long weekend here, which meant that my daughter was able to come home for a visit (hooray!). She brought a great gift with her...a puzzle from Liberty Puzzles! She and I are puzzle lovers, and these puzzles are awesome! Look at all the whimsy pieces...so so fun.

It's a high quality wooden puzzle with charm for days. We are totally hooked and already looking through their website looking for a special puzzle for next Christmas. Being obsessive puzzlers that we are, we made short work of it:

Our friend introduced us to a puzzler rule: very few and very quick looks at the box cover to make it more challenging. That helped to make it last longer.

We've already put it away, but we'll do it again in a few months I'm sure.

Baseball spectating was another family activity this weekend. Teams are getting warmed up for the high school season to start officially.

When home, the kids decided we should have a family game tournament, different games for one big winner at the finish. We played Yatzi, Rummikub, Balderdash, and Wii golf, but never ended up tallying the big winner. To be continued I suppose.

I started cutting quilt pieces somewhere in the midst of games and turn waiting and direction reading. I've never done a quilt from solid fabrics, and had gathered a bunch of fabric quarters a year or so ago to make one. Trying to use up what I have!

I did sneak in some time to keep up with the daily creative projects. (I love it when the brush cleaning water is pretty.) Thank you for all the excitement and sharing on the last post about this project. I'm excited so many are doing their own versions of a similar creative commitment this year! We can do it!!!

Yesterday my husband had to work, and daughter had to drive back to school, so it was all day baseball spectating for me. I sat where I could see him easily and got out a little sketchbook to try to sketch some of the parents around me. I felt uncomfortable, it was too hard to look at people and sketch without it being obvious, so instead I pulled up a blog post of Mary Ann's on my phone and sketched a couple photos. People are not my forte, but doing it was no less fun for it.

And today, everyone here is back to work and school, and plans I had were rescheduled, which means an unexpected chunk of time opened up....exciting! Of course there are a thousand things to do, but I'm going to spend some time on the paintings started long ago that I've not gotten back to. I want to finish them, surely they should be on that to do list too! Hope you find some unexpected time in your day to do something fun.

November 21, 2014

I instagrammed the flowers pictured above 2 weeks ago (I can't believe it's been that long, I was thinking one week tops), and the top photo yesterday. Although I've had various other pulls and pushes on my time between the two, I've been exploring with watercolors when I can. Specifically watercolor painting in a loose, trying to get looser way. Trying to go more toward imagination vs. rendering or sketching something real.

On scraps from another project...

On half done pages in my art journal...

On papers found near me...basically anything I can, when I can. I'm having lots of fun. This flower fantasy fun started in earnest here, and it's really taken hold of my imagination, I'm constantly thinking of things I want to try "next time".

I mentioned on that post that I felt I was onto something, meaning something in my own artistic development. One of those times when it feels like one's universe is expanding in a new direction. I also said that in a strange way, I feel like all my interests are sort of melding in my head, like my voice is becoming stronger even when I'm thinking about expressing it in different mediums.

I'm having a hard time explaining what I'm thinking. Probably because I'm not too clear on it myself. Also probably becuase I tend to think that way anyway, big loops of big picture...not broken down into clean, defined sections. (More unclear stream of consciousness for you there.)

For example, I'm really noticing how I hold the brush differently and use the brush differently, when watercoloring, oil painting, abstract acrylic paintings, art journaling. Pretty sure the oil painting class brought that on, seeing the way that Leslie held her brush. Well, the fact that oil brushes are longer usually, and for a reason; arm vs. wrist, started me thinking differently. I'm fascinated right now in how my touch changes and how changing how I use my hand/arm/approach changes so much in the result. Certain mediums naturally bring out a different style and that is just so cool to me.

I'm using different brushes than when oil painting or acrylic painting, that's no big surprise, but what did surprise me was that I'm using different brushes when watercolor painting vs. watercoloring sketching. And I'm using the brushes differently, applying the color to the paper differently. And that really surprised me too. Oh, how I love the discovery from experimenting!

I'm not sure if it's obvious in the photos above, but the papers are very different too. More exploring, more discovering.

It's too early for me to have any favorite supplies to share, I'm still deep in the play, so excited about all the new territory ahead. But, I would be remiss if I didn't mention again that this whole watercolor world really opened up for me when I took Mary Ann's Sketchbookery class. I am not just saying that because she's a good friend and a new session is starting soon. I'm saying it because it's true. I learned a lot, and believe that's where this door started opening for me; by learning and practicing watercoloring and sketching more than I ever had via her methods and tools. If you want more watercoloring info right now, I'd suggest starting there... who knows where it will lead YOU!

November 09, 2014

Day 2 at Studio Crescendoh learning about oil painting with Leslie Duke. So fun. I was excited to get back to it on day 2. We first went on a little foraging excursion looking for possible still life subjects.

That weekend it was the city's annual día de los muertos celebration. (Last year I blogged about that here.) Pretty colors everywhere you looked.

I took a minute to really study what I love so much about Leslie's class demo from the first day. Such strong strokes, color blocking, more a suggestion of the leaves than detailed wisps. Such great energy and texture. Here's a closeup:

Isn't it delicious? Leslie described the consistency we were trying to create with our oils and mixing medium as icing, looks just like it to me!

Here is the persimmon she painted the first day while we watched in awe.

My pieces from day one getting worked on during day 2.

I got to work touching up my radishes. Adding some contrast, highlights, color and mostly changing the leaves to be more suggestive.

And then I tried to bring some life back to the persimmon.

Trying my hand at short blocks of color and more suggestive leaves:

Not quite icing, but getting closer.

Next up were the apples that were just begun the day before. Unfortunately, I seemed to paint a bit of the life out of them too. I liked them best at the end of first day.

Whenever I have the good fortune of getting back to these, I will add some more highlights, lowlights, and more interest to the background colors. That blue especially is much too flat!

My supplies. Here's my palette near the end of day 2:

I am a messy mixer, that's for sure!

While we were painting, Leslie began another painting, this time of a jar of thread. A student had requested something other than fruits and veggies. Leslie said that she was a little apprehensive about it, becuase for her, it's a very different thing, she wasn't drawn to it as a subject on her own. I loved that she reminded herself to trust her process and jumped in. It looks like the class is empty and she's painting at lunchtime, but we were all huddled behind her, watching intently.

Pretty awesome! Looks like a jar full of candy.

We would watch her, paint a little, watch her, paint some more. Heaven.

I had brought in a little branch of magnolia leaves and started to try to paint them. It was a big disaster and I ended up scraping off my board entirely. Class was nearing the end and I asked Leslie to begin on it herself, so I could see how I could have approached it. Again, I was having a hard time seeing the lights and darks and not just the all green tops and brown undersides of the leaves as one color, and how to be suggestive with the flower pod, not detailed. Leslie did point out that I was a little overambitious with such a subject, which made me feel better about the disaster I had made, and then began a new demo.

Oh, that's how! She had to stop here, but I loved it so much I bought the unfinished art. I love that it's a reminder of the day and a way for me to study the process, not just the finished piece. And the reduced price for an incomplete piece was nice too ;).

And suddenly, the day was over and a few signs from the weekend were all that remained. I thought it fitting that the day ended as colorfully as it began and snapped this photo.

I learned so much, and I am looking forward to trying my hand at oil painting again in the future. I am also very interested to see how this might impact some of my art journaling and acrylic painting...color blocking? attempting still lifes? smaller canvases?

November 07, 2014

Last Friday I found myself here, at the sweet little San Clemente Art Supply store, about to take another offshoot on the road of my usual creative pursuits. I was shopping for required class materials, since I was taking a weekend class in oil painting over at Studio Crescendoh, taught by Leslie Duke.

I started getting some of the colors for class and then kept adding pretty colors to the basket. Well. I had no idea how expensive oil paints can be...especially the series 3 and 4 tubes. I'm grateful that the cashier had no issue with me saying, "how much? oh, no, I can't get that, sorry" over and over. It's hard when you are an art supply addict and color lover both ;).

How cute is Leslie? Very! I'm a big fan of her work and was so excited to get to learn about her process and see her create in person. While I've never done oils, I knew going in that there was a reason for that. I knew that they are known to be difficult to work with and also very slow drying which requires patience. Adding the still life aspect to it takes it further out of my usual big, messy, whatever goes, instinctual type painting with acrylics. I would be challenged to be cleaner, more precise, to be uncomfortable with the materials. But hey, I love a creative challenge. While I know some find it hard to be at a level of creating that doesn't line up with their level of taste (paraphrasing there a great quote by Ira Glass that Leslie shared with us):

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

I enjoy the no expectations, nowhere to go but up, end of the art learning curve. For a bit anyway...I mean, of course, I wouldn't enjoy it as much day after day after day...I do want to see evidence that I'm learning in the results. But that said, I appreciate that good art shouldn't come instantly, I don't expect it to be easy, and that while perhaps certain things can't be taught, like natural talent, whatever skills and talent you do have can be improved upon with practice. All this to say that being a student is very fun to me, which in turn improves the learning I do.

Say what? I'm going to assume you get what I'm fumbling all over my words trying to say- the same thing I always do- if you're interested in trying something, by all means, I encourage you to, and hope you have low expectations about result but instead, enjoy the journey!

It's a real treat to see what other artists do, what they use, how they think, and watch their minds and hands work. I loved Leslie's paint palette that her friend made just for her.

We discussed natural light and how to see differently. I was having a tough time seeing the shadows and lights and darks as well as I would have liked. I should have looked in my camera lens, because they are so much clearer in this photo then to my eye in person!

We also discussed composition. I ended up breaking my standard lean to of odd numbers and decided to paint 2 radishes for my first excercise.

I always have to remind myself that as much as I want to start trying, I'm really there to learn and my favorite way to learn is to watch. We were all mesmerised, watching her work her magic.

My makeshift palette and my still life set ups. Time for me to try my hand at magic making. Spoiler: It ain't easy, but it's worth it!

I did find it nice to be working in a smaller, more contained area. To have clean enough hands (at the beginning anyway) to take notes. You can see my two paintings that I spent most of day one working on in progress here. I did a single persimmon and 2 radishes.

My radishes were my favorite at the end of day 1 by far. I knew I had to get back to them the next day, but felt there was hope I'd like them when done.

My persimmon was a little overworked and I'd taken some of the life/energy out of it. I was glad that the day was wrapping up just so I'd stop messing with it!

About 50 minutes before class was over, I decided to start a third painting (of three apples) and see if I could just be really quick and free and not overthink or over fuss. Of course, the apples quickly became my favorite. It was just the beginning of course, but I felt a freedom and an energy in the painting that wasn't in the others...can you see it?

October 29, 2014

It's happened again...I have a creative crush. This time it's the experiments in watercolor painting. (I see the practices of art journaling, sketching, and watercolor painting all different, although of course, they can overlap.) I'm still in the hazy young love stage with these new watercolor explorations. I've been challenging myself to approach watercoloring more like how I approach abstract painting. Sort of. Who cares why though, it's just fun!

This one above and the one below were painted in this book that Minnie told me about. She found them at Aaron Brothers on a buy one/get one sale, I went and did the same, (the one I gave Mary Ann that she refers to in her recent post), If Aaron Bros isn't having the sale, Amazon has them priced better and you don't have to leave your house. (2 different links to the book for 2 different sizes I have)

I want to take a minute to make sure you are aware I have become an Amazon affiliate. That means if I link to something on Amazon, it will have a code that will tell Amazon that I sent you, and sometimes will qualify for a small percentage commission on that sale. Of course, you don't get charged anything different than the usual. Also of course, I don't care if you buy it there, or at your local store, or anywhere at all. I will never link to anything that I haven't bought or want myself. I do a lot of shopping on Amazon because it's easy (I love not leaving my house, the free shipping, that usually the price is lower than in person shopping, to name a few reasons. My closest independent art store is 45 minutes away, bookstore even farther, and I am lazy about errands, I want to make things!), but Amazon has it's issues, and makes plenty of money, so I think it's fair that they compensate all the bloggers and websites of the world that link to them as a resource for readers. I mention all this just to be really clear that I see nothing wrong with people being affiliates, and to be sure you know (I assume you know me well enough by now, but in case you don't,) that I am not trying to make a buck off pushing things on you...no way, never! I have always linked sources when possible, and will continue to whether in an affiliate program or not. I love art supplies and have no shame about being an "enabler" of them, because for me, encouraging the pursuit of creativity has and will always be one of the main reason I blog. Okay...now that I've beaten that into the ground, let's get back to discussing creative pursuits!

Mmmmm...experimenting is so fun...

And then, just ink too. I've been exploring a little with ink (this one shown here) while watercoloring:

Did you see that bird there? It wasn't drawn as a bird, just saw it from what resulted after drawing the flowers and ink drops. Good Lord, birds when I'm not even trying...birds birds birds.

Birds on the brain? Bird brain?

Don't answer that!

Sometimes experiments don't work out as hoped (which is how I feel about the above). No matter to me! Doesn't change the fun while experimenting one bit!

All three of the pages/spread above were done in this book I have and love. Unlike the books mentioned above, it's pages are not coldpress, just a smooth, heavier "art paper" as they call it. Seeing how watercolors react to different papers has been one of my favorite discoveries so far. I have always been a hot press girl, and here is a spread of my journal made of hot press paper:

This is actually this goauche here on top of acrylic and watercolor background. Anyway, after recent experiments, I just ordered this coldpress paper. I am enjoying the way the watercolor reacts to cold press. (Is it one word or two?)

Mary Ann jokingly said that she was copying me on her recent blog post; nonsense! we all know that inspiration goes round and round and I wouldn't have fallen down this lovely watercolor rabbit hole if she hadn't done her recent Sketchbookery class where I picked up lots of tips and tricks and favorite new supplies. Seeing her gorgeous pages makes all kinds of bells and whistles go off in my brain. And when I hear that siren song, I always turn my sails that way...

p.s. if you are wondering, I do see my art journals, sketchbooks, and travel journals all differently and number my art journals and sketchbooks separately and my travel journals are just the place I traveled, no numerical order recorded. I'm currently working in art journal number 34, sketchbook number 3, and the books I've shown above, the ones where I'm watercoloring freely (not sketching) aren't numbered at all -ha! whatever floats your boat ;)

October 25, 2014

Inspired by both the flowers I picked, and my visit to Moss Cottage last weekend, I felt a very strong urge to get out the watercolors and some inks and play at painting flowers the other day.

You know I'm not one to say no to my creative yearnings...

the table near the end of my playtime before motherhood duties rang the time's-up! bell

It was extremely satisfying. As a matter of fact, I'm back at it a little today...

Although I know it must seem like I go off in a thousand different tangets, I feel strangely like it's all sort of coming together, my creative interests. I'm seeing a unifying thread in color and freedom and envisioning ways that the many different pursuits could all become part of a larger whole that obviously belongs together and doesn't look so scattered. Maybe...I get glimpses of it and then they vanish...but I feel it solidifying into some bigger picture that might just stick around...

September 13, 2014

I'm trying to finish up a new batch of paintings over here. My goal would be to get them finished, listed, and shipped by the end of this week, but I'm not sure if it's a reasonable one...everything seems to take a lot longer than I think it will, and life often interrupts the best of plans, so we'll see. Of course, those that read the blog will be the first to know.

Most of these are the same that were shown in progress previously here and here.

Some have changed quite a lot, some not much, and a couple new ones have been added to the mix.

I'm still stationed here, on the step down between the kitchen and family room. It's even hotter in Southern California now than it was a month ago. Seems like we've had summer for 16 months or so now...

Anyway, bless my family for just keeping mum and going around the other way, I don't think I'd be as flexible were it not my mess. See the ipad there among the mess? I like silence a lot of the time when I create, but lately, I've been enjoying watching/listening to shows on Netflix as I paint. Certainly keeps my overactive mind focused on something else than the paintings...a helpful hint if you are result obsessed and think about it as you go along. I don't usually have that issue, but I might over focus on a specific area of a painting that is bothering me, or not have the patience to wait for a color to dry, so it helps. I just finished the first 3 seasons of Hell on Wheels and wish there were more. It's back for season 4 on live TV, but it's so not fun to wait a week. Do any of you watch it? I don't know anyone in my life that does, and I need someone to know what I mean when I say, "man, that Cullen Bohannon is one charasmatic character!" Anson Mount, the actor that brings him to life is largely responsible, clearly. And rapper Common, playing Elam Ferguson is another favorite of mine. I think most all of the characters are written and acted so well. I know that to say "it's a show about the construction of the first transcontinental railroad across the US" doesn't necessarily sound appealing right off the bat, but if you like good characters, I'd say give it a shot.

Well, enough about what I'm watching while painting, and back to the paintings.

Just like with my children, I like some better than others. I KID! I KID! Of course, like my children, I love them equally for different reasons. ;)

These two used to look different than each other, they are getting too similar, will be addressing that for sure and bringing out different qualities I like in each. I think it's one of the risks of my working on a lot at the same time. One of the benefits is getting to express myself differently at the same time. I'm still discovering a lot about my process each time I have a long painting "session". Or maybe I should say, I'm still developing my own process of creating in this medium. You know what I mean, right?

A doing a good job of mess making at the same time....

So much remains to be discovered. Love that about creativity and making in general...all it takes is a willingness to participate, you can't NOT learn something.

I hope you are having a lovely weekend, and I hope it's a little cooler than the 100 degrees we have here (enough already, California! Bring on fall.)

And if you see any that you think might "float your boat" as one friend commented, I hope to have them for sale this week here on the blog...we shall see...back to pushing paint I go...

August 28, 2014

I thought it'd be fun to share the same paintings having been worked on when I can over the last couple of days. Some have changed quite a bit, some not so much. Some for the better, some, not so much. It's all good, all part of the process.

The before (last post) and now, below. The one on the right has changed most of the two.

A closer look at the one on right above:

This group of three hasn't seen too much change. And frankly, I prefer the way they were before better than the way they are now, below, too washed out:

The one above, on left, had some big attention, as you can see below, the one on right, more subtle changes.

Before above, now below:

Hardly any changes on the three below (as seen before in the two pics above)

Probably because I was liking them the most and saw bigger "problem solving" to be done on others.

Even the canvas catch-all changed a bit:

Now the time has come where I have to clean my messes up and put the painting fun away for a bit. We've got company coming (which means the house needs cleaning!) and I'm teaching at French General this weekend (which means kits need finishing up and supplies need packing). So, for now, they'll stay just where they are here. I look forward to getting back to them and seeing what the next layers will bring!

August 26, 2014

I really want to thank you again for your words, emails, interest, etc. in my recent painting adventures. It took me all day Saturday to photo, list and blog the paintings, and by Sunday morning they were all gone. Of course, I realize, there weren't that many, and I don't offer them regularly enough so that impacts the desire, but still, I am very grateful for feeling understood as I explore deeper in this medium. I've only been painting for a few years, and not regularly at that, so I really don't know what's going to come out/show up when I do. I am trying to finish up a few more for those that feel like you don't get a chance at them.

This is the current view looking into the family room from the step that divides it from the kitchen table area. I've been perching myself on that step (the garage is waaaayyyy too hot these days) and making a happy mess. As you can see, I work on many at once. I feel a freedom that way to explore different ideas and let the paintings themselves lead the way in a sense. However, that does tend to cause many to be abandoned midway when certain ideas/paintings take hold and require more intense discovery. Currently, I have about 10 that I'm trying to bring to fruition soon. Ok, maybe that's a bit too many, probably 7 or 8. Here they are today:

Some feel like a complete departure for me, the less abstract ones, the more flowery bouquets. Not sure if they'll stay that way or not...

Some are doodle heavy...

Some more abstract ...

Some in between...

Like I said, I never really know where it's going to go. Sometimes I forget that's a good thing and get frustrated wanting to go a certain way, and then I remember to stop thinking and wanting and wait and see. (Which sometimes means putting it out of eyesight for awhile or more.) Usually, I remember that it's all about enjoying the journey, and do just that.

My favorite thus far this go-round is the canvas piece I put down to use excess paint on...it's not a stretched canvas, just a piece of canvas scrap from something else. I think I might be onto something there though...even less thinking about result (including subconscious thinking) is good for me!

Thanks for checking in and encouraging whatever creative pursuit I'm on; it's so nice to feel understood and have "peeps" that get me, I appreciate it! and I hope you are up to something creative today too; I'm cheering your creativity on in spirit, no matter where you are, if you share online etc. or not. This is what I think about those that love to make: I think you should keep making!!! xo